Human history is a bloody patchwork of battles and wars that leaves many to conclude our species is inexorably drawn towards violence.

But a new study of prehistoric hunter-gatherers in Japan has revealed that some societies can pull themselves out of this unending cycle of bloodshed.

The results suggest perhaps that violence is not so inherently part of human nature as has been previously proposed.

The Jomon culture are thought to have lived in Japan from around 14,500 BC to around 300 BC (reconstruction of Jomon settlement pictured). Scientists have now found they appear to have lived a largely peaceful existence with one of the lowest levels of warfare for a prehistoric culture in the world

A team of archaeologists examined the skeletal remains and causes of death of members of the Jomon people who lived in Japan up to 16,500 years ago.

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These hunter-gatherers created some of the oldest pottery in the world and are known to have had a rich culture that prized jewellery and clay figurines.

WHO WERE THE JOMON?

The Jomon were a prehistoric culture that lived in Japan from 14,500 BC to around 300 BC.

They are known to have created some of the earliest clay pots in existence - technology that had thought to have emerged with farming.

The Jomon name refers the distinctive cord markings on the pots, which were made using coiled ropes, pressed into the wet clay.

Instead, research has found they may have used these pots to cook fish that they caught.

The Jomon lived in Japan while much of it was still covered in glaciers towards the end of the last ice age.

Archaeological discoveries have suggested they had a rich culture where jewellery made from stone, bone, shells and antlers were worn.

Intricate figurines made from pottery have also been unearthed.

While fish is thought to have been the main source of their diet, the Jomon are also said to have lived on the rich forest vegetation that covered Japan at the time along with sources of meat like deer and wild boar.

Most prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies are thought to have engaged in warfare and anthropologists believe it played a key role in human evolution.

They say the threat of war led humans to form tight-knit bands and even played a role in the development of our ability to cooperate altruistically.

But Professor Hisashi Nakao, an expert in the philosophy of human evolution at Yamaguchi University in Japan, and his colleagues, argue this may not be completely true.

They could find no evidence for conflicts over a period of more than 5,000 years in Japan from around 13,000BC.

They say this suggests violence is not necessarily at integral to human nature as some believe.

Surprisingly Japan later went on to develop a culture built on a feudal system and where clan warfare was common.

Writing in the journal Biology Letters, they said: 'Our results suggest that violence and thus warfare were not common in prehistoric Japan.

'We have found no injured individuals in the Initial Jomon period, lasting for 5,000 years or more, though non-injured individuals were discovered for the period.

'Some scholars have claimed that warfare "is found throughout prehistory" and that warfare was significantly common among hunter-gatherer populations to have affected social evolution by promoting intra-group altruism.

The researchers studied 2,500 remains of Jomon hunter-gatherers from several sites around Japan (shown on the map) and found almost no evidence for violence on the bones. They say across the whole population they found just 0.89 per cent suffered violent deaths compared to 14 per cent in other prehistoric societies

The Jomon appear to have been a largely peaceful culture who prized jewellery and art more than they did conflict. They are known to have created intricate clay figures (pictured) and pots

NO SIGNS OF VIOLENCE

The research team examined the remains of 2,500 people who lived in Japan during the Jomon period.

They studied them for signs of violence by looking for broken or damaged bones.

They said they found evidence of violence in just 1.8 per cent of all the adult bones they looked at and just 0.89 per cent of the whole population.

Studies of other hunter-gatherer populations have found between 12 and 14 per cent show signs of violence, which is what has led many archaeologists to conclude life in the prehistoric world was violent.

The Jomon culture is thought to have lasted from around 14,500BC to 300BC and it is believed they lived on a diet mainly of fish, and made pots to cook them in.

'Despite the uncertainties about whether measures of mortality taken from archaeological data are representative, it is likely that our results pose a counterexample to these claims and are further inconsistent with arguments that warfare is inherent in human nature and was an important selective pressure.'

The research team, which included archaeologists at Okayama University and the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura, examined the remains of 2,500 people who lived in Japan during the Jomon period.

They studied them for signs of violence by looking for broken or damaged bones.

They said they found evidence of violence in just 1.8 per cent of all the adult bones they looked at and just 0.89 per cent of the whole population.

Studies of other hunter-gatherer populations have found between 12 and 14 per cent show signs of violence, which is what has led many archaeologists to conclude life in the prehistoric world was violent.

The Jomon culture is thought to have lasted from around 14,500BC to 300BC and it is believed they lived on a diet mainly of fish, and made pots to cook them in.

Jomon pottery (pictured) is the oldest pottery in the world, dating back to the last Ice Age. The Jomon name refers to the distinctive cord markings on the pots, which were used for cooking and fermenting foods

Towards the end of that period, they became increasingly sedentary as they settled into permanent villages and farming began to become more common.

Professor Nakao and his colleagues said they did find a small upsurge in violence towards the end of the Jomon period as people settled down.

This appears to agree with other research around the world that suggests the switch to farming and permanent settlements led to a spike in warfare.

But the researchers said their findings suggest the early prehistoric Jomon culture was remarkably peaceful.

'We are not asserting warfare was uncommon among hunter-gatherers in all areas and times,' they explained.

'Indeed, several archaeological sites and ethnographical records show high mortality due to violence.

'We think warfare depends on specific conditions and the Japanese data indicate that we should examine these more closely.'